Pedagogical Approaches

Mastery Learning

Also Known As Mastery-Based Learning

Citation Formats

General Reference

Education Atlas. "Mastery Learning." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-education.interactiveatlas.org/approaches/mastery-learning.

APA Style

Education Atlas. (n.d.). Mastery Learning. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-education.interactiveatlas.org/approaches/mastery-learning

BibTeX

@misc{educationatlas-mastery-learning,
  author = {Education Atlas},
  title = {Mastery Learning},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-education.interactiveatlas.org/approaches/mastery-learning},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Mastery learning is an instructional strategy and educational philosophy holding that students should reach a high level of competence, typically around ninety percent accuracy, in one unit of material before advancing to the next. First formally proposed by Benjamin Bloom in 1968, it inverts the usual assumption that time is fixed and achievement varies: Bloom argued that if each learner received the quality of instruction and the amount of time they actually needed, most students could reach the same high standard rather than being sorted along a bell curve. Students who do not yet meet the bar receive corrective instruction and retest rather than moving on with gaps in their foundation.

Facts

Central Question

If instruction and time are adapted to the learner rather than fixed, can nearly all students reach the same high standard of achievement? 1

Most Effective For

Weaker and struggling students in well-defined, sequential subjects such as science, probability and social studies, where a meta-analysis found an average effect size of 0.59, moderate to substantial gains in academic performance. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Developed By

Benjamin Bloom

Bloom formally proposed mastery learning in 1968.

Source Wikipedia: Mastery learning

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Mastery learning

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Quote, Lead section

Mastery learning is an instructional strategy and educational philosophy that emphasizes the importance of students achieving a high level of competence (e.g., 90% accuracy) in prerequisite knowledge before moving on to new material.

View the Source

1. Wikipedia: Mastery learning

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